Broken
by tomatolover007
Summary: Confrontations, commiseration, confusion and a general lack of control. Possible events following the explosive season finale. Spoilers for the season finale!
1. Carnations

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the plot!**

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"They ripped me out Grammy"

The sun beat down onto the rows of mismatched headstones; some simple, inscribed with heartfelt messages, whilst others were ornate, exuding wealth. It would have been a nice day, except for perhaps the backlash of the war brewing within the glass walls of the law firm formerly known as Pearson Hardman.

"I did what I thought was right, I mean the DA would have taken his license if had I filed the motion… Jessica would have made sure both of us were on the street without a job. At least this way he would have still his job."

Mike couldn't bring himself to say his mentor's name. That deep look of disappointment and his last words of rejection still reverberated in the depths of his mind.

"I don't think he saw it that way though. He fired me on the spot. For real this time, and he meant every word of it."

The tears, which had started to fall in the file room, were still making their way down his cheeks, only stopping briefly in between. All thought of dignity and self-respect were lost when Rachel slapped him twice more- those slaps hurt more than they should have.

"I've got no one left Grammy. Not you, not Trevor, not Harvey or even Rachel. No one."

Mike had never felt like an orphan before, but now, that loneliness which had started after Grammy's funeral threatened to engulf him whole.

"What am I supposed to do? I can't go into work again, not with Harvey and Rachel wishing I were gone. Jessica'll probably be pleased if I hand my resignation in on Monday, it'll be better for everyone that way."

Mike lay a bouquet of white carnations in front of an obsidian headstone with "Edith Ross" engraved on it. He held two more of the same bouquets in his arms.

"I miss you Grammy."

With his head bowed, Mike headed towards a pair of identical white marble headstones a couple of graves along. The harsh weather had beaten the marble down, but the names James Ross and Nina Ross were still visible. Mike opened his mouth to say something, but pause- he still couldn't. Talking to his parents, was still something he couldn't do, it was too much. Take the remaining two bouquets; he placed them down in front of the graves and kneeled in front of them with his head bowed, eyes closed. A couple more traitorous tears found their way through his lashes and onto the grass below. The wind whistled through the trees and the grass, and for the first time in many years, Mike wished he lay beneath the ground in front of him.

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** I can't believe I have to wait till fall for season 3 of Suits. Thats way too long for the best show on television! Here's my first attempt at fanfiction, hope you like it. Please review!**


	2. Crushed

**Thanks for the warm welcome, this is my first fanfiction! Thanks to all of those who gave reviews, it really does mean a lot. Hope you guys like the next chapter..**

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"I'm tired Donna. I'll be back on Monday."

Harvey Specter was tired. No he was exhausted. Fighting off the various vultures, Allison Holt, Daniel Hardman and Robert Zane, was no health tonic; and the betrayal by Jessica and Mike was the proverbial straw, which broke the camel's back.

"Bye Donna."

Harvey cut the call and turned his Blackberry off. This must have been the first time his Blackberry had been turned off since it came out of the box; but he really wasn't in the mood for answering calls. Harvey rubbed a hand across his weary face and just wished this had all been a nightmare but Harvey Specter doesn't get nightmares because Harvey Specter doesn't get scared. Turns out he did; turns out he had a worse nightmare and it was hell bent on making itself known.

His anger got the better of him and he flung his phone across his apartment. It broke against the kitchen wall with a resounding smash. It took all of Harvey's mental strength to not destroy his apartment completely. Harvey had no one to call but Donna, so the destruction of his phone didn't really make a difference. Calling Mike or Jessica was out of the question now. Trying not to think of how lonely he really was, Harvey shrugged on his jacket and went to the only person who he could think of at this time. Sadly the individual couldn't reply.

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Harvey never visited his father's grave, if he could help it. Visiting it once every year, on that accursed day was bad enough. Bringing back all those memories of his incompetence. Did it really matter that he was the best closer in the city if he didn't even get to say goodbye to his father? The long train journey didn't really help get his thoughts in order, in fact if anything he was left to wallow in his self-pity during the two and a half hour journey. Upon reaching his destination, he began his annual ritual of heading to the small liquor store to get a bottle of his dad's favourite, McCallan, he got an extra one for good measure just in case he bumped into caretaker of the cemetery, David. The long walk down to the cemetery brought back memories of his childhood, the simpler times. If anyone had told back then, that in 30 years time he would have been working at a top law firm in New York, making more money in a month than his dad did in a year he would have told them to go see a psychiatrist. And then would have proceeded to throw a baseball at them.

The wrought iron gates of the cemetery were partially open, Harvey could see David clearing the dead leaves off some of the older graves.

"Harvey m'boy, you're early! Wasn't expecting you here for another 6 months or so."

Harvey cracked a vague smile at the man as he handed over a bottle.

"Much obliged m'boy, but unfortunately I can't keep the cemetery closed for you today. Another young fellow's already in, visiting his family."

Harvey was never one to show his emotions, especially not on the anniversary of his father's death so every year, he would ask David to close the cemetery for an hour or two when he was visiting so no-one could intrude on his private moment. Apparently he just wasn't lucky enough today, some poor soul was spending their weekend with their dead relative as well as him.

"Thanks David, but its okay, I'll manage."

Harvey didn't trust himself to say anymore, his voice was already cracking. That tough façade he kept up was crumbling, much like his relationships with, well everyone. He walked down the winding path, clutching the McCallan like a dying man. The sun reflected off the black granite, which was his father's tombstone, giving the grave a halo.

"Hi Dad."

Harvey bent down to put the McCallan in front of the tombstone marked "Gordon Specter" when he heard a rustle from somewhere behind him, presumably from the other live inhabitant of the graveyard, besides the caretaker. He proceeded to kneel in front of the grave with his eyes closed, hoping that none of the tears would make it down his face.

"I messed up Dad. And I don't think it can be fixed."

Harvey was shaken out of his reverie by the sounds of someone trying to stifle their sobs. The surface of the headstone reflected someone kneeling in front of two identical graves.

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**Hope you liked that! Please review :D**


	3. Confusion

**Here's the next instalment! **

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'This is why I get David to keep the cemetery closed for me', Harvey thought silently to himself. It was exceedingly awkward to intrude on someone else's private moments let alone have someone else intrude on yours. Harvey kept kneeling in front of his father's grave, hoping for some form of divine intervention, which would magically fix everything, alas, it never came. In fact, if anything Harvey felt even worst than before. Gordon Specter had always told his sons to live honorably, abide a moral code and in the last two weeks Harvey had thrown all of that out the proverbial window. His cynicism and arrogance prevented him from seeing Scottie's true intentions. Perhaps if he had believed in love like his father it would have never lead to this day.

"I'm sorry Dad."

Harvey choked the words out, not recognizing his own voice. It had been years since he last cried, when his brother was in the hospital and a couple of tears had leaked out due to his frustration. Harvey quickly wiped the few tears, which had managed to make their way down his cheeks. Harvey detested Jessica at this point, she had given him everything and now she had taken it all away. He loved his job, the satisfaction of victory, not to mention the money and as much as it pained him to admit it, he enjoyed working with his associate Mike. Mike managed to fill the void which only his brother could fill, and working with him partially made up for the fact that Harvey could only see his brother a couple of times a year. Now his job satisfaction was as dead as the people below him along with his friendship with Mike and his relationship with Jessica. The sobbing from behind him seemed to have subsided; he could only hear the rustle of leaves and the occasional deep breath one would take to steady themselves. Harvey kneeled in front of the tombstone for a little while longer, before getting up and dusting his trousers. He touched the cool granite briefly before leaving. As he walked back towards the entrance, the other mourner was right in front of him, heading out whilst wiping his eyes with his cuffs. The other man seemed too familiar to Harvey, his hair, his gait and his general air. As realization dawned upon Harvey,

"Harvey!"

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Eventually Mike's grief overtook him in the form of the silent sobs, which wracked through his body. It was simply too much; just as things were starting to look good for him, he squandered it all- his friendship with Harvey, his thing (he didn't even know what to call it) with Rachel. His parents would have been ashamed of what he is today- a fraudulent corporate lawyer who had a history of drug abuse. At least after his resignation, the fraudulent lawyer part could be erased. Amidst these weighty realizations, Mike noted that there was someone else in the cemetery besides the caretaker. At this point he didn't really care who saw him, but decided to take deep breaths to calm himself so as to not intrude on the other man's mourning. The white carnation bouquets gleamed in the sunlight, along with the headstones. With a sense of finality, Mike got up from the ground to head back to the travesty, which he called an apartment. The rustling from elsewhere in the cemetery indicated that his fellow mourner had decided to do the same. Mike quickened his pace so as to not show his face to anyone; he was sure his red rimmed eyes and puffy cheeks were site to behold. He passed the caretaker, who was clearing dried flowers from the older graves, on the way to the gates when he heard,

"Harvey!"

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**Please review if I should continue or not! **


	4. Confrontation

**Hi guys! I'm back :D**

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In most adverse situations in life, a confrontation is inevitable. Whether this confrontation is violent, loud, long or short is a completely different matter, but the confrontation itself cannot be avoided. Mike and Harvey both knew this, but as children hope that the remnants of their cookie eating crimes will not be visible on their faces, they both too hoped that they would not have to face each other for the next couple of weeks at the very least. But as fate would have it, the two would be face to face the very next day, at their most vulnerable.

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"Harvey!"

Mike stiffened at the name of his boss. I hate my life, thought Mike. A side-glance confirmed this notion. Of all the days, to be at any possible place, Harvey had to be at the very same cemetery where he was at the exact same time. What are the odds of that happening, Mike thought to himself. The infinitesimally small number immediately popped into Mike's mind, taunting him that this was indeed that one in a million chance.

"A young missus left this for you, a very pretty young missus that is. Forgot about it when I saw you first, thought you might want it now."

David was waving a small envelope in front of Harvey excitedly, not really aware of the awkward nature of the situation. Harvey looked up at his associate a couple of yards in front of him, pretty much ignoring David. Wow, Harvey thought dully. He had honestly thought this week couldn't get any worst, turns out the universe was hell bent on proving him wrong this week. A quick glance down at the envelope which had his name written on it with a distinctive and familiar feminine touch- Scottie. She must have known he would have come here after the wreck of a week he had suffered, Harvey mused, and she really did have him all figured out. Either that or she took help from Donna; the latter seemed more likely.

"Harvey?", David shook Harvey out of his reverie.

Harvey muttered a quick thanks to David and stuffed the envelope in his pocket, not really paying it much attention at this point. As he started off down the well-worn path he pondered the possible course of action he would take. I could ignore him, thought Harvey. This option seemed appealing but then he realized they were both probably taking the same train back to New York; given how fate was favoring them now, chances are they would end up opposite each other on the train. That would actually, possibly be more awkward than talking it through now. 'Fix it', a voice said in his mind; this voice sounded remarkably like his father's. 'This really wasn't the kind of divine intervention I was hoping for Dad, but you always did manage to surprise me' Harvey thought to himself. After an internal debate, Gordon Specter managed to kick Harvey in the right direction from beyond the grave.

"Mike!"

Mike had immediately quickened his pace when he realized that it was indeed Harvey in the cemetery. He was hoping to board the next train to New York, and drown his sorrows in a certain banned substance once he got back home. He really didn't want to face Harvey right now, open up the raw wounds and look into that betrayed face again. Mike had done what he thought he had to do, for the good of Harvey and the firm, and if Harvey couldn't accept that then well; he was resigning anyways so he wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. And anyways, it wasn't as though any of the 147 options of someone having a gun to your head was applicable here when Jessica had a bazooka. So when Mike heard Harvey calling, he was surprised to say the very least. After trying to school his face into the most neutral expression possible, Mike turned around to see Harvey jogging at him.

"What are you doing here?", Mike asked wearily.

"My Dad…", Harvey pointed vaguely in the direction of his dad's grave, "You?"

"Grammy, my parents…", Mike motioned towards the general vicinity of said graves. The tension was palpable.

"Look, I may have been wrong in firing you so, you're rehired. This doesn't mean what you did was right. You should have come to me, you don't work for Jessica you work for me."

Mike raised his eyebrows, "It doesn't matter anymore; I'm resigning anyways. You told me to get my shit together but I obviously got ways to go with that. Everyone's better off this way. Jessica'll be pleased to see the last of me. Rachel just… And you'll get to work with a real Harvard kid; which I am not, which by the way you never fail to point out."

Harvey Specter was never at a loss for words. So he said the only thing he could.

"No."

"You don't have a choice, its not like you can change my mind on this."

"I do and I will. You have any idea what I've done for you? I've put my ass on the line for you more times than I'd like to remember. I was willing to…"

"You never fail to point out that you don't care about anyone but yourself, so anything you're claiming to have done for me you did for yourself. So thanks for hiring me, its been real but its over now. I'm handing my resignation in on Monday. And for what its worth, it doesn't matter if you accept it or not because I know for a fact that Jessica sure as hell will."

Mike turned around to push the gate open, he had heard enough.

"I'm sure you're grandmother would be proud. Running away from your problems.", it was a low blow, even for Harvey's standards but he had no choice.

Mike paused; he really didn't think Harvey would stoop this low and bring up Grammy.

"Firstly you don't know anything about what Grammy would have thought. And secondly if I am the problem, then I'm not running away from jack shit."

Mike violently pushed the gate open and all but sprinted out of the cemetery; he really didn't want to be there anymore.

"Mike! If you leave, Darby'll get suspicious and start to investigate and we know what he'll find if he does. This will give him enough to strong-arm Jessica into a settlement, which will leave her without a firm and me without a license to practice law!"

Mike continued to walk, if anything he sped up a little.

"Look, I can't be keep on being me without you!", Harvey confessed. If this didn't do it nothing would. Mike stopped but didn't turn around, did Harvey Specter just admit to having some form of weakness?

"As much as it pains me to admit it, you _are_ one of the best lawyers I've seen. And it's actually vaguely fun working with you." Harvey said the last bit as though someone had punched him in the gut and then forced him to talk at gunpoint; in other words very unwillingly.

To say Mike was in shock was an understatement; he turned around to face Harvey.

"Look, even if I wanted to go back I can't."

"Did you not just hear what I said?!"

"Harvey…", Mike's guilty face said volumes more than his words.

"Oh what did you do now Mike, it was the paralegal wasn't it, Rachel?", Harvey put the pieces together and suddenly the hand-shaped bruises on Mike's face made sense, along with his general depressed demeanor. There was no way that he caused all of it, Harvey thought to himself.

"You told her didn't you, about Harvard." Harvey said darkly. It was more of a statement than a question really, there wasn't much left to question after all.

Mike just looked at Harvey expressionlessly.

Mike began to stutter under Harvey's cold glare, "I… She… Louis and that Harvard lady and…".

"_Louis_ knows?", Harvey had a mental image of a mug-shot with Mike instead of Louis, except this time it wasn't remotely funny.

"NO! At least I don't think so… Unless he runs a background check on me through his Harvard girlfriend and then finds out...", the possibility of Louis finding out dawns on Mike and he is agitated once more. "See Harvey! This is why its better if I leave - I'm a liability to you and the firm."

"Yes, you are a liability and yes, you do cause a hell of a lot of trouble, but you're going to make a great lawyer one day and wasting all that talent you have should be a crime."

The two of them just stared at each other, waiting for the other to break the silence.

Harvey looked at him, let out a huge sigh and started towards the train station. Mike caught up with him almost immediately, and asked "So we good?".

"Lets just say_ I_ won't be firing you any time soon."

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**To the wonderful reviewers: **

**SheLovesGreenTea- **Thank you! Will definitely continue!

**lovesreidforever- **Thank you! I'll definitely continue!

**scentless**- I will definitely continue the story, now that I see so many people like it! However it probably won't be suicidal Mike, not too good at writing stuff that like that. It will probably be severely depressed, midlife crisis Mike (if that's a thing ;) ) Sorry!

**raven carmichael- **Thank you! Hope this chapter cleared up why it was "Harvey!" and not "Mike!"

**spankmadlad- **Thank you! Won't stop now, don't worry! Though my updates may not be as frequent as before…

**Soyli Oliveira- **The story will definitely go on! :D

**iheartlife-** Thanks for your continued support!

**jayden . herry- **Thanks for the compliments! I've tried to make this chapter longer :D

**Hope you enjoyed that! Don't worry its not over yet, the story's just begun :D Please review, its wonderful to hear what your readers think of you from the perspective of a writer!**


	5. Control

**I'm back! Sorry for the later than usual update, have been busy with things. :D **

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The sun was setting across the island of Manhattan, though the streets were still teeming with life. To a great many, the night really signaled the beginning. The dying rays of the sun illuminated Jessica's silhouette in her office as she looked upon the rest of the city. She should have been at home or out with Darby celebrating the merger but it just didn't feel right. The so-called victory was bitter; marred by recent events.

Jessica was confused. Ever since Hardman had come back, everything seemed to by spiraling out of control. That conniving bastard seemed to have planned for every possible outcome in the five years he was away. But he couldn't have possibly foretold the merger. That this merger would go through. That it would be the tipping point in terms of her relationship with Harvey.

Harvey.

Jessica was always the consummate professional but her dealings with Harvey had temporarily disrupted her ability to handle things skillfully. She had let her anger, her stubbornness dictate her actions and this had left her without her most loyal lieutenant. Her protégé. Her friend.

Most if not all the firm was thoroughly opposing this merger, and had Harvey been beside her, she could have allayed her fears but, without him, her situation was precarious to say the very least. If the other senior partners felt that the merger was unsuccessful or uncalled for, she could be ousted from her own firm- much like Daniel was. In fact, her underhand tactics reminded her of just how much that lying snake in the grass had rubbed off on her; preying on a man's weakness in order to get them to do her bidding.

Jessica had felt deeply betrayed by Harvey when she had found out the truth about Mike Ross. But even she knew, that while Harvey had betrayed her when hiring Mike; she had crossed the line with threatening to go the DA. She just didn't understand what made that Ross kid that special. Admittedly his knowledge about the law was unparalleled because of his memory and he was able to think outside the famed box. However, he was soft, which is not a quality in lawyers. Or at least the in best ones. Getting rid of him would be the best for the firm and Harvey by extension, as it would mean he had no weakness once more. No chink in the impenetrable armor.

Jessica had always been fearless but Monday would have her face Harvey again. While she could most definitely mask her fear, the thought of seeing hatred for her etched across what used to be her greatest asset's face did shake her to the core. Because it meant that she truly was alone.

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It had been a long time since Harvey had not looked forward to coming in to work. Perhaps since those mail boy days; which he refused to acknowledge actually occurred. But this was one of those days that he just wanted to avoid. Not that Harvey Specter did avoiding, he was more the sort that faced problems head on. But the fact that he would have to see Jessica again and work for her after all that she had done, did sprinkle salt on the all too fresh wounds.

"Harvey, here's your…", Donna stood in front of Harvey with a stack of all the calls he had received in the last hour.

"I'll go through them later Donna."

"Morning Harvey; I need you to close Whittaker and handle the case with Pfister Insurance."

Jessica was standing in front of Harvey's office with several folders, which was uncalled for considering she could have left them with Donna. Or send them to him through one of the messenger guys. Or emailed him. It looked as though she was purposely engineering another hostile confrontation, to see the aftermath of the last one.

"Okay.", Harvey nodded slightly, taking the files.

No 'consider it done' or 'they won't know what hit them' or any of the witty repartee they normally shared. The tension was thick and palpable in the air, with Donna's eyes subtly moving between the two. Jessica nodded awkwardly and strode away towards her office.

"Harvey, here are the files from last week."

Harvey looked up at Mike with surprise. He was expecting him at work, but not this chipper and bright considering well everything.

"Good. I need you to look up everything on Pfister Insurance and the suit against them."

Mike proceeded to sit down on 'his' chair and open his laptop to get to work. Since when did Mike have a laptop, wondered Harvey.

"When I say get to work, the in your cubicle bit is implied. Heavily." Harvey said, with a poignant stare at Mike.

After looking like he was about to have a stroke and Harvey raised his eyebrows a bit more, Mike rushed back to his cubicle.

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**JFJD-** Thank you! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter.

**compplyffy–** Thank you!

**Rae7788-** Thank you! I really love your fanfics; it means a lot to get such a positive review from such a seasoned writer!

**Raven Carmichael** Will do!

**iheartlife-** Thank you! I'm thinking of doing a couple of one-shots along side this one, but depends on how much free time I get…

**Soyli Oliveira-** Thank you!

**Hope that wasn't too terrible, please review! I'm going through a bit of a dry spell in terms of where to take the story next, so please PM ideas if you have any!**

**Thanks to all of the reviewers, followers and people who have favourited this piece!**


	6. Commandeered

**Finally got an idea as to where to go with the story! Hope you like it :D I'm so glad we've finally got a date as to when the next season will start, so excited!**

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The days after the merger saw a definite change in the atmosphere of the firm. The previously cheerful atmosphere had now changed into one of monotony. No longer was there playful ribbing amongst the associates, or practical jokes amongst senior partners. Everyone had an air of brutal efficiency, as if they wanted to show up their British counterpart. Even the wall-to-ceiling windows couldn't illuminate the drab atmosphere. Harvey and Mike had a brutally cordial relationship nowadays, while Harvey had forgiven Mike, it didn't mean he still wasn't angry and disappointed at him. Mike would receive his workload in the morning, and give it in to Harvey and that was really all that was left of their relationship. No more going to see clients together. Or witnessing Harvey's brilliance in court. Or even joking about Louis.

On the other hand, Louis and Harvey had grown much closer together. Much like they were before Harvey got promoted to a senior partner. Perhaps the way in which Louis had tried to help Harvey over throw the merger had been helpful in repairing their relationship. They would even occasionally go out for lunch together. Mike felt as though he had been replaced with Louis, and was vaguely offended by Harvey's choice of substitute. But with his workload, which had quadrupled over recent weeks, feeling morose about the remnants of his relationship with Harvey really wasn't a choice. Louis realized how much this was weighing down on Mike, because he was giving him humane amounts of work with decent deadlines. He would rarely if ever, have to pull all-nighters for Louis' work.

The person who hadn't changed the slightest after the merger was Donna. She still walked the hallways like she owned them. She still knew everything there was to know about everyone; well almost. However, she was disappointed at Harvey for venting out his anger from the merger on Mike.

Jessica on the other hand was facing hostility from all fronts. The firm wasn't particularly thrilled with the inundation of the British lawyers and she no longer had a confidante to well, confide in. Her only saving grace was that Darby had remained true to his word and the contract allowed her to preside over Pearson Darby alongside Edward. The merger had made ripples in the world of lawyers, and now the partners and associates who had jumped ship were regretting their choice because from the outside, it looked like the law firm was excelling on every front- winning cases, signing prestigious clients. The façade it put up betrayed the cold atmosphere in the law firm itself.

As much as it pained Jessica to admit weakness, she missed Harvey's companionship. The exchange of movie quotes, the playful banter. From what Jessica could see, Harvey simply threw himself into his work each and every morning, rarely pausing for a break. Jessica could never pick a fault in Harvey's work, and it was exceedingly difficult now with its new level of perfection. So finding an excuse to drop by his office was even more difficult, especially with her new travel schedule which had her jetting off to meet their various international clients on their new Learjet. Harvey would never seek her out for conversation so she did the only thing she could do to force her to talk to her. Like an adult. So that the could clear this mess out before this Cold War became a fully-fledged World War II. That's what she kept saying to herself as she commandeered Mike for the next two weeks.

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"You called?"

Mike was at the door of Jessica's office wondering what fresh hell she had prepared for him.

"Yes. Due to the merger there are a number of new international clients whom we shall be handling from this New York office. I'd like you to summarize the strengths and weaknesses of each client's past cases on this list and report to me when you're done. I'll tell Harvey and Louis that this work is a priority, and that you need not be doing any of their work till this is finished."

Jessica's tone was firm, and didn't betray her uncertainty. She knew loyalty couldn't be bought, and that Mike was fiercely loyal to Harvey but the associate's reaction surprised her.

"Ok. Anything else?" asked Mike. Jessica handed him the file of the clients' names.

"The files will be in the filing room by tomorrow morning. I expect that the work will be done as fast as possible, I need to review the folders to decide which of the partners get which clients."

"Ok." Mike turned to leave the office.

"Oh and take tonight off. You'll be working pretty hard on these files, so go home, sleep and relax." Jessica wanted Mike to be on her side, because she would be a fool not to recognize him as an asset to the firm. All she really managed to do by offering him this peace offering was remind him of the last time she asked him to go home, and the events following that.

"I don't think so, the last time you said that it didn't work out so well for me." Mike left the office with that, echoing the words of Ella Follman; leaving Jessica to count the number of bridges she had burnt to succeed.

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The next morning saw Jessica breaking the news to Louis and Harvey. While Louis took the news in stride, it was Harvey's reaction that really bothered Jessica.

"Louis, I need you to layoff Mike Ross for a while. I'm having him summarize all the old cases and information about our new overseas clients."

"Sure Jessica. He's a good associate." Louis grudgingly admits. "Anything else I can help you with?" Louis asked.

"Nothing else Louis. Just keep up the good work, as usual." The compliment was most unlike Jessica, she never felt that she had to validate her underlings, considering that she didn't need the validation herself. However, recent events had left her without a lieutenant, and if Daniel could have bought Louis with flattery so could she.

"Thanks Jessica." Louis looked flabbergasted, as Jessica left his office to go see Harvey.

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"Harvey, I just wanted to let you know I'm taking Mike Ross exclusively for the next couple of weeks. He's summarizing cases for the new overseas clients we are receiving." Jessica shrewdly surveyed Harvey with an impassive façade. An unidentifiable expression passed through Harvey's eyes before he replied.

"If you think you can 'control' me by using Mike as bait, you don't know me very well at all. You won the bet Jessica, now if you just want to blow smoke up my ass then why don't you just have me swap offices with Paul Porter or someone.", Harvey's tone was neutral and his face expressionless but Jessica wasn't fooled by this mask. She had hit him hard with the merger, and this move was just asking for trouble.

"I assure you Harvey, I had none of those intentions. That kid's work is impeccable, and I'd like our new clients to be happy. Not everything is actually about you." As Jessica turned to leave the office, Harvey turned to face the window outside, pondering his fate.

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Reading had never fazed Mike, he'd been reading since the age of three so there really wasn't much to be fazed about. But the shear volume of files he was expected to get through and summarize was daunting to say the very least. As he got the first file out, he just wished he could do something to win back Harvey's trust.

Who would have thought that the answer lay in the files in front of him?

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**hikeyosemite- **Thank you! I'm gonna try to include a bit of perspective from all the characters :D

**iheartlife- **Thank you :D

**Raven Carmichael- **Thank you! A fellow writer would sympathize with the pains of a writer's block L

**Rae7788-** Thank you! I plan to include some of Rachel, Louis and Donna's personal thoughts on the merger as well in future chapters, just to change things up a little.

**And there's that! Hope you found that enjoyable. I'll try to update sooner. Reviews are most helpful :D**


	7. Contemplation

**Hope you've looked forward to this chapter as much as I've like writing it... **

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Scottie's letter had yet to be opened by Harvey. Amidst the turmoil in the firm, he had initially forgotten about it, and when it had crossed his mind he just couldn't bring himself to open it. At least not without something very alcoholic. It was only two weeks after the fateful day that Harvey had his ass handed to him by Jessica, that Harvey found time to sit and collect his thoughts. He had tried his level best to throw himself at his work in order to drown his sorrows- a technique that had worked exceedingly well in the past. Sitting on the sofa next to the coffee table, Harvey's eyes skimmed across Scottie's letter, which he had carelessly thrown on to it after receiving it. After getting a tumbler of scotch (and imbibing in a few before hand), Harvey sat by his coffee table to open the letter.

_Dear Harvey,_

_I'm sorry I wasn't more upfront about my feelings. I just didn't know how to approach you, so this was the only way I could see to get your attention. I didn't mean for all of this to blow up in your face. Darby just called to tell me that I am to report to the England office first thing Monday morning, because he was rescinding my termination. I guess even when I try to do something for you; you beat me to it. I guess it really is 0 and everything when it's me against you. _

_Love,_

_Scottie_

Harvey's hands trembled slightly after reading the letter. He wasn't used to getting letters like this. Heck he wasn't even used to getting letters. At least Scottie had got her job back, even though it was in England. When Darby had asked where he would have had her work, he had just stared at him and mumbled an answer before walking away back to his office with some half-assed excuse. Scottie's handwriting was distinctly messier than he remembered, as if she had been trembling while writing this. Even the handwriting itself spoke volumes in terms of the emotions it held. Harvey's eyes lingered at the word love; how could anyone still love him after everything that had happened, specifically Scottie? Harvey was torn between shredding the letter into pieces and picking up the phone to talk to Scottie. Finally as the internal argument seized, Harvey picked up his phone at which point he realized that with the time difference it probably wouldn't be wise to call her now.

It was Friday evening, and all Harvey really wanted to do was to get back to work even though there was no work left to be done, just to get rid of the mind-numbing myriad of emotions he felt at the moment. Even the scotch wasn't helping- if anything it was magnifying his emotions. At this point Harvey gave up trying to not feel, instead just hoping for a good night's sleep in order to get his thoughts in order.

* * *

Almost all the lights were off in the Pearson Darby building; save for the lights in the file room in which a certain Mike Ross was sitting in. Whoever said that mostly cars caused global warming, clearly hadn't been inside a law firm because the amount of paper which Mike was surrounded by had definitely come from at least 12 different forests. Mike was sitting red eyed in the midst of the papers committing it all to memory so that he could type up the notes later, to hand in to Jessica. This must be the most grueling job ever, Mike thought to himself. It was just plain cruel of Jessica to give him all of this to handle on his own. The various mergers, class actions suits and other various cases were overwhelming. Darby's clients sure liked to get their money's worth out of their clients, Mike thought. It had been 6 hours since he had started going through the files, and he had managed to get through one of the twenty boxes he had to go through.

One of the firms was quickly becoming the bane of Mike's existence was a private security firm that seemed to sue everyone and everything in its path. From patents to mergers to employee termination to environmental charges- the Altech Securities faced far too much litigation for one firm, at least in Mike's opinion. What was odd was that even for the small, employee termination contracts, Darby was personally handling everything. Mike was confused; why would the managing partner of a firm personally deal with such trivial paperwork and cases; especially one like Darby who didn't hesitate to put his 'no. 2' in his steed when trying to beat Harvey. It was half past one by the time Mike decided to call it a day, and head back to his apartment.

* * *

Monday morning saw Mike making a discovery that put him back in Harvey's good graces.

Something about Altech Securities just wasn't sitting right with Mike so he spent his hour for lunch researching the firm. The firm was based in the UK, and was starting to branch-out. The CEO, Connor Alfred, came from nothing until a kind benefactor took him under his wing and led him up the ranks of his artillery business. This kind benefactor (who Mike couldn't even find a name for) passed his business onto Alfred after which he converted it into a private securities firm with a specialization in creating bespoke weapons. There were a number of things, which didn't sit right with Mike; firstly no one just gives their life's work to some stranger off the street. Secondly, out of all the cases for Altech, which had proceeded to court, Darby had managed to win every single one of them for Altech. While Darby was a decent lawyer, convincing a grand jury 21 times of his client's innocence was unlikely. The fact that the jury voted unanimously in favor of Altech in every case was setting off alarm bells in Mike's mind. Mike didn't know what to do, he could go to Jessica with this but, going to Harvey just seemed more natural. And maybe Harvey would know what to do with the information and even stop his cold war with Mike. With his mind settled, Mike set of for Harvey's office with his files in hand.

* * *

Donna was sitting at her cubicle ready typing away, when Mike approached her. "Hi Donna.." Mike said tentatively, as if expecting her to scold him. "Aren't you working with Jessica right now? Climbing the corporate ladder?" Donna questioned with a smirk on her face. Mike wasn't as adept as Harvey as reading Donna's sarcasm and immediately started apologizing and trying to explain his actions. "Its okay Mike, I know what Jessica's like. What do you need to see Harvey for?" Donna's curiosity piqued, she knew Mike had given in all of Harvey's paperwork before leaving to work for Jessica so it couldn't be that. "I found something odd on the files Jessica was having me go through and I thought that maybe….", Mike tailed off and shrugged hoping Donna would get the message. Donna always got the message so he need not have worried, she smiled sympathetically at him and motioned him inside. "Be careful." she warned, "He opened his letter from Scottie last night and well, it wasn't pretty.". Mike nodded and cautiously entered the lion's den.

* * *

Harvey was staring out the window when Mike entered the office, oblivious to his associate's presence. "Harvey, I had something for you.", said Mike cautiously as though expecting Harvey would cause him bodily harm. "Me? But you're Jessica's lapdog right now aren't you?" Harvey countered. Just because he had forgiven him doesn't mean he still wasn't livid. "I… but…no.." Mike stammered.

There was an awkward pause. That's when Mike took his cue to start talking.

"Look I'm really sorry Harvey but I found something that might stop the merger from officially going through. There's this private securities firm that looks really odd on paper, as do all of its cases and I thought that maybe you would, um, want to see…" Mike tapered off again. "Why didn't you go to Jessica?", Harvey spat her name out as though it had a bitter taste. "I thought that maybe you uh…", finishing sentences didn't seem to be Mike's strong suit today. Harvey looked up at Mike for the first time since he had entered the room, "So what do you want me to do about it?" he questioned. Mike shrugged at him and turned to walk out of the office with his head down when Harvey called out to him, "Mike, come and explain the entire situation to me, in full sentences preferably, and show me what exactly is odd." Mike allowed himself a small smile turned around to explain.

Outside the glass office, Donna smiled- her boys were back.

* * *

**And there's that! **

**Raven Carmichael-** Thank you! Hope your writer's block soon clears :D

**Thirdjack-** Thank you!

**Iheartlife-** Thank you :D

**Hikeyosemite-** Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**Gohan108-** Thank you :D


	8. Confidence

"This is good."

Mike looked up from the papers at Harvey's face. He hadn't been expecting such lavish (by Harvey's standards) praise from the man, after all he had been treated like a wall for the past couple of weeks- leant on (for paperwork) when required and then forgotten about. His meeting with Harvey had lasted long past office hours, and the office was mostly empty save for a few overzealous workers. The sun had set over the island, and the city was abuzz with nightlife, but no more so than the minds of the men in Harvey's office.

"If you're so good at this, should've been a fake PI." Harvey said to Mike, with a light smile gracing his face.

"And we're back to that again are we, do you not ever get tired of suggesting fake professions for me?" Mike questioned with an amused look on his face.

"Nope." Harvey got up from his seat and turned around to face the windows overlooking the streets below.

"I'll get Vanessa to look into this, while I'm impressed with the extent of your investigation, I suspect her research may yield more in depth results." Harvey said while staring out the window, pensive despite the light banter moments ago. Mike got up from his seat to leave the office, taking the last statement as his cue to leave.

"If you think this gets you out of the doghouse, you're wrong." Harvey said with a slight smile. "I know." replied Mike. A look of understanding passed between the two, and the unspoken words reinforced the start of their once more 'normal' relationship.

* * *

The past few weeks had been harrowing to say the very least for Rachel. After a brief bout of passion in the file room, Rachel had come to her senses at the last minute pushed Mike away and all but run. The next few days saw both of them ignoring the other with Mike using every single other paralegal the firm had to offer besides Rachel. Somehow, Mike trusted Rachel enough to not be too anxious about her telling his dirty little secret. Luckily for Mike, his tactic of avoiding Rachel was working very well. Without anyone to talk to at the firm, Mike's efficiency had reached new heights with him completing all his paperwork in record time, even though the workload had increased since the merger. Of course this couldn't last. The question was how long could you avoid someone you worked with, and in the case of Rachel and Mike it was 4 weeks, 3 days and 4 hours. Not that any of them were counting. Certainly not that they had been thinking over what they would say to each other if and during a confrontation; which was bound to happen given they worked on the same floor of the same building in the same firm.

Mike was walking down the hallways with an obscenely large stack of files for Harvey along with some permutation of coffee for Donna (in order to beg for forgiveness for being a whole 15 minutes late with the files.) when it happened. Amidst all his worries of reporting late to Harvey with the files, Mike didn't hear the tell tale signs of Rachel's heels clacking against the marble floors. Rachel was looking down at the screen of her Blackberry, ticking off the things she had done on her to-do list when the collided.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I couldn't see where I was going because of these files and oh my god Donna's going to kill me, I dropped her coffee and I'm late with Harvey.." Mike kept babbling until he realized who he was speaking to. His chin just about fell to the floor; Rachel's expression mirrored his except it was with far more finesse.

"There you are! Harvey's seething and you've dropped my coffee, you are just asking for trouble aren't you, Mike." Donna surveyed the disastrous scenario in front of her, unaware of the elephant in the room. Mike nodded awkwardly and walked off in the direction of Harvey's office.

"What's wrong with you, you look like you've seen a ghost! Do we need to go out for happy hour again?" Donna said teasingly. "Oh no its fine, just a little, uh, flustered. Didn't see him coming and you know.." Rachel flustered. Donna nodded knowingly before heading off towards her cubicle.

Rachel briefly looked towards the direction in which Mike left before shaking her head and leaving for her own office.


End file.
